A BUSINESS owner has been left disgusted after vandals destroyed flowers and left piles of rubbish in a shopping precinct.

Amy Wunderley, arrived at work in Market Street, Little Lever, at around 8am yesterday morning and found the shopping precinct a mess.

She runs Wunderley's Cafe Bistro with her husband Derek.

When they arrived at work, the plants that had been planted only weeks before had been vandalised and ripped out of their planters and strewn across the precinct and take away cartons and food were also strewn across the square.

Mrs Wunderley said: "The council had done a really good job with the flowers. All the flower beds were absolutely lovely.

They had just been ripped to shreds. There were takeaway wrappers everywhere. It looked like the kids had a fight with the flowers and with the takeaway stuff. It looked like they had been throwing the stuff at each other."

She added that she believes teenagers and other youngsters caused the mess.

A member of council staff arrived to empty the bins and cleaned up some of the mess that had been left.

Local UKIP councillor Paul Richardson, with help from businesses around the precinct then finished the clean-up job by sweeping up and clearing up the rubbish.

Mrs Wunderley said that it is not his job to be cleaning up after the youths but thanked him for doing so.

She said: "I was disgusted. I have got four children ranging from 10 to 19-years-old. I grew up in Little Lever. As children I would hand around the square. I would never think of causing damage or making a mess. It shows the lack of respect they have.

"Parents need to start getting involved and finding out where their children are at night."

Mrs Wunderley raised concerns about a new dessert shop that was recently handed planning permission in Market Street.

Her husband Derek recently spoke at a planning meeting stating that he feared the cafe would increase problems with anti-social behaviour.